Ok, where do I begin? Let me say this. The dismantling of the Chicago Police Departrment didn't just happen. It began years ago under Mayor Richard Daley. He did everything he could think of to emasculate, demoralize and turn it into a social service agency and that continues under Mayor Emanuel. But it's not just them. The whole system is corrupt. It is not geared to the victims, the police, the tax payers or anyone else. It is geared to doing what it can to give the ILLUSION that the city is combating crime and to get those that are connected to the Democratic Party a good job within the system. That's it. One of the ways they have accomplished this is through a promotion process in which the top members of the Command Staff are promoted. People THINK that the best Officers become Commanders, Chiefs, detectives etc. People THINK that hard work and excellent police work will get you somewhere here. It doesn't. Having a "hook" get's you a promotion here. Which means that the guy working a beat car in the ghetto soon realizes that unless he makes a connection somewhere he's going to be on that beat car for a very long time. Which is not bad until you see people being promoted ahead of you who wouldn't know a bad guy if he saw someone walking down a dark alley at 0200 hrs. wearing a striped one piece black and white suit, a mask and had a pillow case stuffed with jewlery slung over his shoulder.

Then there is the States Attorney's Office who is responsible for approving all Felony charges except dope. They re-write the law and rountinely deny felony charges for even the most ironclad cases because unless they are one thousand percent sure they can win a conviction in court. This wears on an Officer who is trying to be productive and make arrests. Why bother when the S/A won't prosecute.

Then there is the polictical system. They are the ones that really run this department, not Gary McCarthy. They are the ones that decide what we do, where we do it and how we do it. Case in point. Many years ago one of the best vice officers in the department hit a massage parlor/video store. It turns out that the place was owned by a high ranking politician. That Officer was told in no uncertain terms to stay away from that place. He could not even walk into it. This is the same system that will also throw an Officer under the bus in a heartbeat.

The MSM. Someone doubted that the Mayor and perhaps even Obama has the MSM in their back pocket. Think again. Daley and now Emanuel DO control them. He tells them what to print and when. Think not? How about the recent incident downtown in which a criminal approached a young family and tried to run off with their daughter. It hit the newsmedia THREE days after the event even though the newsmedia knew about it.

McCarthy. He is a breath of fresh air compared to that nitwit FBI agent we had before him. He is taking alot of heat but I supported him in his first effort to get the top spot and I support him now. He is trying to revamp this department into what it used to be and should be. He is stepping on some toes along the way and says some... stupid things from time to time but he's on the right track. The decline of the CPD has been going on for years and it is unrealistic to think he's going to change it overnight. But this department is wrought with political hacks and their stupid, self promoting ideas and they need to go.

The Citywide teams Spinner mentioned. While there were some outstanding Policemen working in the Special Operations Section, it soon became known by another name, Sons of Supervisors. The reason they were broken up as well as the Targeted Response Unit was because Emanuel promised the voters that he would hire one thousand Police Officers. He never had any intention of doing that. It was all a lie. What he did do however was disband those two units and then claim he put five hundred new officers back on the street. They were all street officers to begin with but were sent back to the districts and this allowed Emanuel to claim he added five hundred to the street. This lie was aided and abbetted by the newsmedia who knew the truth but went along with it because he controls them, hence part of my previous post about the MSM. It was just one lie of many on his part and that the MSM helped him with.

I hope this answers some of your questions. It is the tip of the iceberg and I could go into much more detail if I had the time. It is not sour grapes on my part, just the cold, hard truth. The above things I talk about are all tied into why we are having so many shootings, so much violence. The department is demoralized and until recently, leaderless. I hope they allow McCarthy to stick around but I doubt it. He has become a thorn in Emanuels side. Ever since Emanuel gave CeaseFire that million dollars and McCarthy told him he wanted nothing to do with them up and up to Emanuel enlisting lil Louie Farrakan and his nation of islam morons another thing McCarty is against.

I kind of have no dog in this fight. I'm on the way out. But I love my job, the Department and it pains me to see what they have done to it, what it has become, how the clueless have risen to leadership roles and don't know how to lead. This is why I wanted an outsider to take over and as brazen and hardheaded as McCarthy can be I think he is the right guy.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot about the "reverends". How much power they have, even the power to make promotions and formulate policy. But that's another thread.

Preach on Brother, BTDT with all the same type of players. Now I feel somewhat vindicated that my statements Re: The Supt. are accurate. Stay safe, watch the hands and never let the bastards wear you down!!

Chicago is not as bad as the perception and opinions of some people. Crime is not as rampant but there are the ubiquitious South side and West side of Chicago (Cook County) that has the main gun violence area(s) centered around 75th-79th Street. It is definately no Iowa or North Dakota a mouse!
Why do some call for the National Guard? Just because they can and it makes headlines. 80% or more of the alderman who have called for the National Guard have been under scruting for illegal "Pay to Play" scheme of the Old Daley Regime Tactics but it is slowly falling apart while the rest have been sent to jail, released from jail or there is a plan to put them in jail.. 2 governors in jail and a few others skirting the law with old political connections coming to roost. (Betty Maltese and the town of Cicero-old case of crony capitalism).

Chicago has a beautiful lakefront, modern buildings, great summer festivals for every group (Polish, jazz, gospel, salsa, Skokie, Bahai temple, South side, West side, North Shore, Ravinia, close to Milwaukee and Rahm Emmanuel, a ballet adept turned politician, the new face after the more than 50 years of the Daley Dynasty). I luv Chicago

I like the city too, in terms of the neighborhoods my sisters live in and some spots that I go to when I'm in the area. Downtown has never really been a draw for me, I spent too much time fighting traffic when I would find myself working down there. Seen the Picasso and the Bean once, you've seen it a thousand times.

And it's true, as far as the majority of the violence going on, you can track it easily to various districts and neighborhoods to the south and west. I'm always on the lookout when I head to Chicago, but I'm that way even where I live.

Funny thing is, I experienced closer calls with shootings and violence the year I spent down in Carbondale than I ever have in Chicago. In fact, about a week or so after I arrived down there to start school, I barely missed getting caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout on Washington St. just north of Rte 13. There was one killed and close to 50 shots fired back and forth across the street. I'd driven past that site earlier that day, and not much earlier.

And then of course there were the gunshots that I heard on a fairly regular basis coming from a small housing project just to the northeast of my apartment, which was just off campus. I was actually surprised at the amount of gang activity in my neighborhood, but I probably shouldn't have been. Most of these knuckleheads had migrated there from Chicago.

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"This is supposed to be a happy occasion! Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who!"

That was before he had tits, from taking all the hormone pills the brothers had smuggled in so their bitch could be more like a woman. Along with a video camera so they could film Speck talking about how much he liked all that. It's around on the net somewhere I'm sure.

I think that was Bill Kurtis on Channel 2 showing the video if I'm not mistaken. Pretty bizarre.

I don't know which was worse, Statesville or Cook County Jail at 26th and California. I remember doing an engineering survey back in the early 70s at Cook County when Winston Moore was the warden. I asked for an escort to look at the old Bridewell. He told me "Don't worry, if the prisoners do anything to you, they'll be in big trouble." I'm thinking, OK, if I get cornholed by the Latin Kings or the Gangster Desciples, they're in trouble???

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"Everybody is entitled to their opinion. Of course that lets in the crackpots, but if you can't tell a crackpot when you see one, you oughta be taken in." Harry Truman

The MSM. Someone doubted that the Mayor and perhaps even Obama has the MSM in their back pocket. Think again. Daley and now Emanuel DO control them. He tells them what to print and when. Think not? How about the recent incident downtown in which a criminal approached a young family and tried to run off with their daughter. It hit the newsmedia THREE days after the event even though the newsmedia knew about it.

Was it news? Crime happens every day that isn't reported. I would think if they really controlled the media they'd quash the story outright. Hitting the media three days after is still hitting the media.

Call me crazy but I think the attempted kidnapping of a young child who is with her parents in Daley Plaza at about 1400 hrs would be news. But when it was published on our blog which the MSM reads religiously, it kind of forced their hand and they then published it. But then again, that's the pattern here. An incident happens which makes either Rahm or the city look bad, the MSM doesn't say a word, we do and presto, there it is, on the 10:00 news. Time after time. I understand that this may sound crazy to someone who doesn't live here but trust me, this is very common.

Was it news? Crime happens every day that isn't reported. I would think if they really controlled the media they'd quash the story outright. Hitting the media three days after is still hitting the media.

If you're not from or have never lived in Chicago, you DO NOT know what you're talking about. These guys who still live there, especially if they're on the job, are not exaggerating even slightly. Since you don't, you wouldn't know how central the location this happened is to the downtown ("The Loop") core. The sculpture referred to isn't 50m from one Federal Building and across the street from the Federal Courthouse. For someone to have tried to snatch a kid in broad daylight at that location, with hundreds of people nearby IS news. HEADLINE news.

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RIP Stevie D. 1964-2012
U.S. Army Veteran of OIF 2003
"Gone But Never Forgotten"

So last week, Rahm Emanuel very publicly rebuked CPD Superintendent Gerry McCarthy over statements McCarthy made to the press that the police department was "basically treading water" with regard to stopping the recent uptick in shootings in the city.

Today, on Meet the Press, Emaneul basically said the same thing that he had chastised McCarthy for saying when he told David Gregory that the police "were containing it".

I suppose you could say that Emanuel parsed the phrasing a little and that "containing" something has a sunnier ring to it than treading water, but in effect the meaning is the same.

I lived/worked in the DC area when it routinely maintained the highest murder rate due to shootings. My theory was as long as innocents dont get shot/killed...who gives a shit? In fact, I say roll out with boxes of 9mm and kick them out the back of the truck so they have more ammo to kill each other with! I rarely cry when scum bleeds out on the sidewalks of a murder Capitol. The kids and babay-mammas left behind are better off without them, and they are likely already on the government dole anyway. Same Chicago...let them kill each other and thin out the herd. But when they venture out and kill innocents come down on them in a manner they will teach a lesson to the ones still standing.

And keep them away from JD KADDS...best damn pizza in the Chicago burbs!!!

But I will say it is bullshit that people want to keep pointing out that murders are taking place close to POTUS' home. That is not his fault and no matter what I think of the guy, he cannot stop that shit.

If you're not from or have never lived in Chicago, you DO NOT know what you're talking about. These guys who still live there, especially if they're on the job, are not exaggerating even slightly. Since you don't, you wouldn't know how central the location this happened is to the downtown ("The Loop") core. The sculpture referred to isn't 50m from one Federal Building and across the street from the Federal Courthouse. For someone to have tried to snatch a kid in broad daylight at that location, with hundreds of people nearby IS news. HEADLINE news.

Ok, well it still made the news did it not? Whether same day or three days later it still made the news.

Still reported. Still looks bad for Chicago.

My point stands - if they completely controlled the media no one would have heard about it, right?

Yet we all did. Even me, all the way out here in California, and I think Chicago is a shithole.

+1000 to Spinner. This is why I left the PD at Calumet City after 11 yrs. I had rank and could have coasted inside the system, but I couldn't bear the thought of 9 more yrs with my hands tied after coming back from the HIDTA. When Chicago tore the housing projects down and issued vouchers, that demographic and the related clergy, social experimentists, etc came with it out to the south suburbs like Cal City (whichwas always a higher crime than the other burbs to begin with). The job changed drastically in a very short time, and I really felt like I had a good chance of getting thrown under the bus for being proactive if I stayed. Luckily, contracting OCONUS was still good at the time and I made the jump. I'm been able to keep steady since then, and now the guys in my peer group at the PD are seriously worried about their pensions, etc.

When Chicago tore the housing projects down and issued vouchers, that demographic and the related clergy, social experimentists, etc came with it out to the south suburbs like Cal City (whichwas always a higher crime than the other burbs to begin with).

Same happened to Forest Park, Jonesboro, Morrow and College Park, Georgia (Clayton County) when the 1996 Olympics sent that demographic out of Atlanta! Now the crime rate is out of control and the schools lost accredidation.
When will these municipalities learn that this does not work?

Ok, well it still made the news did it not? Whether same day or three days later it still made the news.

Still reported. Still looks bad for Chicago.

My point stands - if they completely controlled the media no one would have heard about it, right?

Yet we all did. Even me, all the way out here in California, and I think Chicago is a shithole.

I don't normally say much, but I just don't get the repeated "the media is/isn't biased" arguments. The Chicago media is basically in the bag for the Daley/Rahm Democrat types, with the exception of a few real journalists like John Kass and some of the old school investigative reporters. In Illinois, this point is not even really controversial...to anyone.

MSNBC is in the bag for the Democrats, CNN also is with very few exceptions, and FOX is in the bag for the Republicans. And in Chicago, everyone is in the bag for the machine, with very few exceptions. Why does anyone even argue about this stuff anymore? (Not that KidA was - I'm just speaking generally on this point.)

Yeah, you heard about it out in CA, but the only reason you heard about it is because you're on this board and someone who is educated and interested brought it to your attention. This occurred near the F'in Mayor's office, county court, and a Sheriff's Office and it took three days to make the news THERE.

I don't normally say much, but I just don't get the repeated "the media is/isn't biased" arguments. The Chicago media is basically in the bag for the Daley/Rahm Democrat types, with the exception of a few real journalists like John Kass and some of the old school investigative reporters. In Illinois, this point is not even really controversial...to anyone.

MSNBC is in the bag for the Democrats, CNN also is with very few exceptions, and FOX is in the bag for the Republicans. And in Chicago, everyone is in the bag for the machine, with very few exceptions. Why does anyone even argue about this stuff anymore? (Not that KidA was - I'm just speaking generally on this point.)

Yeah, you heard about it out in CA, but the only reason you heard about it is because you're on this board and someone who is educated and interested brought it to your attention. This occurred near the F'in Mayor's office, county court, and a Sheriff's Office and it took three days to make the news THERE.

I am not saying the news isn't biased - of course it is - it is about making MONEY. It isn't about reporting every single thing that happens.

In my view this was a non-crime. No one was snatched. No one was taken. Nothing happened. Someone tried something. Big deal. Should it shock anyone that someone tried to snatch someone?

People are snatched every single day. How many do you hear about it? Why is the proximity a big deal? Snatching is a crime of opportunity. Should the Mayor's office have a task force of police out there every second making sure no one does anything as much as litter in front of Hizzoner?

If we had to hear about every potential snatching papers would be 50 pages thick and that's all they'd cover.

Sorry, but it's a non frickin issue.

ANd of course there's bias, but no one could STOP the paper from printing it, could they?

THey didn't print it at first because it's a non story, then they needed space to fill so they put a blurb in about it.

I am not saying the news isn't biased - of course it is - it is about making MONEY. It isn't about reporting every single thing that happens.

In my view this was a non-crime. No one was snatched. No one was taken. Nothing happened. Someone tried something. Big deal. Should it shock anyone that someone tried to snatch someone?

People are snatched every single day. How many do you hear about it? Why is the proximity a big deal? Snatching is a crime of opportunity. Should the Mayor's office have a task force of police out there every second making sure no one does anything as much as litter in front of Hizzoner?

If we had to hear about every potential snatching papers would be 50 pages thick and that's all they'd cover.

Sorry, but it's a non frickin issue.

ANd of course there's bias, but no one could STOP the paper from printing it, could they?

THey didn't print it at first because it's a non story, then they needed space to fill so they put a blurb in about it.

Jesus. I'm going to keep your name on the short list for PR flacks if my company ever runs into trouble.

Jesus. I'm going to keep your name on the short list for PR flacks if my company ever runs into trouble.

What does that even mean? Do you honestly think every potential crime is reported? Or that the ones that happen in certain places definitely should be?

Why is it more important that a potential crime didn't happen in one place instead of another?

And again - it was reported. Should it have made the NYT, WaPo, CNN and Fox all at once? Huge headlining story?

So if it was reported, and the image of the city was damaged (if it was, I think no one gives a flying fuck which is why they didn't keep reporting it because the little clicks on the story didn't add up to enough dollars) where is all the media control?

You're spewing bullshit. You're claiming that the media (at least in Chicago) isn't controlled by the Democrats despite the fact that multiple people from Chicago, with years and years of experience in and around the city's political climate, are telling you different.

In order to justify your claim you're wholeheartedly defending the idea that a child being kidnapped in the middle of a major city's tourist thoroughfare isn't newsworthy. You're either incredibly stupid or incredibly good at identifying a narrative and sticking to it. You don't appear to be stupid, so by process of elimination I identified you as someone who would be good at PR.

Beyond that, your narrative sucks. You're sitting there blathering on about HuffPo, NYT, WaPo, etc. when it doesn't appear as if the original poster's intent was to claim that the national news media should have been all over the story. He stated:

Quote:

"The MSM. Someone doubted that the Mayor and perhaps even Obama has the MSM in their back pocket. Think again. Daley and now Emanuel DO control them. He tells them what to print and when. Think not? How about the recent incident downtown in which a criminal approached a young family and tried to run off with their daughter. It hit the newsmedia THREE days after the event even though the newsmedia knew about it."

It appears to me that his quote was in reference primarily to local news media. And if you think that a child almost forcibly snatched from her father's arms in the middle of a tourist destination isn't a major local news story I would probably have to re-evaluate my previous determination on your intelligence.